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Columnists

BOB BROWN: When the Underdog Bites Has Rabies, and a Mean Owner

We have a strong human urge to identify with the “underdog.” There is nothing new about this tendency. The biblical story of David and Goliath, reported 3000 years ago,...

ROBERT L. MARONIC: Is Phase Two Of Trump‘s Peace Plan In The Gaza Strip Doomed To Fail? – Part II

Unfortunately, Trump’s present ceasefire as of October 9 is analogous to the armistice signed between...

ROBERT L. MARONIC: Is Phase Two Of Trump‘s Peace Plan In The Gaza Strip Doomed To Fail? – Part I

Phase one of Trump‘s twenty-point peace plan in the Gaza Strip, which began on October...

FRED FIRST: Approaching the Longest Night

Yes, you’re right—if you’ve even noticed—that this space has been neglected for some weeks now,...

A Life Well-Lived: Shirley Padgett Lester (1947-2025)

Shirley Padgett Lester of Vinton went to her heavenly reward October 4. Below is the...

FRED FIRST: Digital Maps to Nature Literacy – Part 1

We create tools to work for us: to dig foundations, to hoist steel girders for bridges, to record our words and thoughts for others...

SERWAN ZANGANA: Roanoke City Teen Curfew Will Fail Because It Ignores Root Causes

Imposing a teen curfew in Roanoke City will not reduce gun violence as the Citizens have already experienced such a rule in the past....

DEVOTIONAL: How Can You Experience More Of God’s Grace?

And he gives grace generously. As the Scriptures say, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."  -- James 4:6 (NLT) "Humility. Imitate...

SERWAN ZANGANA: How Can We Trust Sam Roman As Assistant City Manager?

In a quick move by the Roanoke City Council, Sam Roman, the Chief of Roanoke police, recently became an assistant City Manager - a...

FRED FIRST: A Whiskey Fungus Among Us

Ethanol fumes create a black coating like a bad dream One hundred and fifty years ago, an unexpected "plague of soot" appeared near distilleries worldwide,...

MIKE KEELER: Jimmy Carter’s One Last Battle

Jimmy Carter has gone into hospice care in Georgia. But he’s hoping to win one last battle before his time runs out. Back in 1982,...